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Mesua thwaitesii
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Family:
CLUSIACEAE/GUTTIFERAE
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Citation: Mesua thwaitesii Planch. & Triana, Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot. ser. 4, 15: 305. 1861; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 1: 278. 1874; N.P. Singh in B.D. Sharma & Sanjappa, Fl. India 3: 143. 1993; Sasidh., Fl. Periyar Tiger Reserve 26. 1998; Sasidh., Fl. Parambikulam WLS 23. 2002; W. Arisdason & P. Daniel in P. Daniel, Fl. Kerala 1: 350. 2005; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 137. 2009.
Mesua ferrea L. var. thwaitesii (Planch. & Triana) Vesque in A. & C. DC., Monogr. Phan. 8: 634. 1893; Manilal & Sivar., Fl. Calicut 41. 1982.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Kilinanku, Nangu
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
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Description:
Glabrous trees, to 20 m high; bark dark brown, smooth. Leaves simple, opposite, decussate, estipulate; petiole upto 10 mm, slender, glabrous; lamina 16-30 x 3-11 cm, oblong, elliptic-oblong, linear-oblong, base acute, apex acuminate, margin entire, glabrous above, glaucous, white and papillate on the lower surface, coriaceous, lateral nerves many, parallel, close, slender, obscure, intercostae obscure. Flowers bisexual, 8-10 cm across, rose-coloured, showy, sessile in terminal cymes; sepals 4, to 1.5 cm across, across, outer pair smaller than inner petals; petals 4, 3-4 x 2-3 cm, orbicular; stamens numerous, polyadelphous; ovary superior, 2-loculed, ovules 2 in each cell; style long; stigma peltate. Fruit a capsule, 3-5 cm long, depressed or obovoid-globose, apiculate or conical, woody, greenish-yellow, surrounded by enlarged sepals and bracts; seeds 2 or 3, to 3 x 2 cm; planoconvex or trigonus, brown.
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Habit:
Tree
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Flowering & Fruiting:
February-December
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District(s):
Palakkad, Idukki, Kozhikkode, Wayanad
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Medicinal:
Yes
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Habitat:
Evergreen forests, also in sacred groves of the plains
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Distribution:
South India and Sri Lanka
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
White
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
No
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Garden:
No
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Edible:
No
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Vegetable:
No
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
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Localities:
Poonkavanam, Pooppara
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